The Pariṅāma Aesthetics as Underlying the Bhāgavata Purāṅa

Abstract

This paper offers a literary and ideological deconstruction of the Bhāgavata Purāṅa; it traces the Purāṅa's formation through the convergence of the Vedāntin, the Aesthetic and the Vai⋅ṅava traditions, and argues that it is the doctrine of Pariṅāma which underlies the treatise. I first examine the Bhāgavata Purāṅa's literary components; the roots of these are traced back historically to the Vedānta and Ālvār traditions, and the Bhāgavata Purāṅa's nature as an opus universale, representing an all Indian cultural ‘melting pot’, is highlighted. The paper then looks at the relations of Vai⋅ṅavism and dramaturgy, both historically as well as theologically, and argues that the Bhāgavata Purāṅa was traditionally read as a drama. It proceeds to decipher the aesthetic theory underlying the Bhāgavata Purāṅa, and argues that it is Bharata's dramaturgical rasa theory. Within the rasa tradition, Abhinavagupta's and Bhoja's positions are highlighted and compared through three seminal points and it becomes apparent that the Bhāgavata Purāṅa's underlying aesthetic theory is close to the Pariṅāma doctrine of Bhoja where śṙṅgāra is considered to be the supreme rasa. As Bhoja's date is no doubt later than the Bhāgavata Purāṅa's it is assumed that the Bhāgavata Purāṅa was influenced by one of Bhoja's predecessors. The paper ends by reinforcing this analysis by highlighting a later tradition which had actually accepted this point of view and that is the Gau[ddot]iya Vai⋅ṅava tradition.